Editor: Penguin UK
English, 240 Pages in paper format
When Charlie Babbitt's father dies, he thinks he will inherit a lot of money. However, the money goes to someone Charlie doesn't know, someone who lives in a hospital and turns out to be the brother that Charlie never knew he had. "Penguin Readers" is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. "Penguin Readers" are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from "Easystarts" with a 200-word vocabulary, to Level 6 (Advanced) with a 3000-word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three sub-categories: "Contemporary", "Classics" or "Originals". At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying "Penguin Readers Factsheets" which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.
comments: The book is true to the movie, sure, but the way it's told is extremely lacking. There is little to no description, although it's not absolutely necessary in novels, some of the descriptions are painstakingly wrong (the color of the car and it's location relative to their father's house to name a few that are literally ON THE SCREEN for you), and the narration of the characters' thoughts are extremely primary- they lack any emotion and depth. Would not recommend.
